This is a technical question re how Windows "does things", or more aptly why it doesn't do what it's suppose to do.

I wanted to repurpose an old IDE HD, and as is my preference, I wanted to completely erase ALL of the old partitions AND data on it.

I used an external HD for this if that's relevent.

The delete of the old partitions in my Win 7 via Disk Management went normally. I then wanted to also reformat the drive, and I once again used Disk
Management. That also went uneventfully with one expection, and hence the reason for this topic.

After the format was complete I went to the drive's Properties and lo & behold there was 92 MB (out of about 80 Gigs) that was "used".

What I'm not understanding is how Disk Management is showing NO partitions, and then the format, and I wind up with 92 MB that obviously was
'immune' from all of the above.

I'm looking for an explanation as to how that can happen, and equally important why these 92 MB don't appear in Disk Management (presumably as
partition).

I had never ever heard of this Master File Table before, AND I have never experienced being offered a choice of the 4 settings that were mentioned in
the link--I certainly would remember that if I had.

I did a print screen of the 4 settings from the link and have attached it. Really strange after all these years something like this never came to my
attn before.

By the way, I installed a Linux distro on this drive a bit later, and it did show up in the part of the install where, as typical for all Linux
installs, it tells you what the partitions are that are going to be created (if you go with the default install); from the truth is stranger that
fiction, Linux told me that there was already a 76 MB partition on the drive (apparently NOT 96). Linux's tech stuff is for the birds since it uses,
presumably a UNIX system for partitions and creates odd, at least for Windows users, partition names, and drive letters. IMO Linux really shoots
itself in the foot with its incomprehensible/unique ways of doing things when they could have just went with a shell for UNIX like Windows did/does.

JackInCT has attached this image.Click the image to enlarge it:

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